Let's Talk Tech
It’s time for the wrap up! I’ve been using the Lenovo Flex 20 for a couple months, and it’s been an interesting exercise in where the future of home and desktop PC’s might lead us.
Let’s take a look!
Related:
Shop for the Flex 20.
Flex 20 First Impressions.
Flex 20 Speaker Test.
A pair of exciting announcements from Sony out of Barcelona. Following in the wake of selling off their PC division, Sony is doubling down on their Xperia line up with the Z2 phone and Z2 Tablet, and happily both of these multimedia powerhouses will survive a swim.
Xperia Z2 Phone
It’s a power packed combo including all of Sony’s best gear. A 5.2″ HD screen is powered by a Qualcomm 801 quad-core, 3GB of RAM and a phablet-sized 3200mAh battery.
For Android photogs, Sony is packing a 20.7 megapixel 1/2.3″ sensor with optical image stabilization. That puts it firmly in Nokia Icon territory for light sensitivity and achieving shallower depth of field in photos and videos. It will also be capable of shooting 4K video, making it one of the more formidable combinations of optics and tech in the Android ecosystem.
Xperia Z2 Tablet
Pushing forward with slates, the Z2 Tablet features a 10.1″ “Full HD” Live Colour LED display, also powered by a Qualcomm 801 quad-core and a 6000mAh battery. Two models will be available, WiFi only and LTE.
Sony pushing gaming and multimedia, hopefully as a tease for future Playstation Now compatibility, are bragging on DUALSHOCK3 wireless controller game play. For work, they’ll have a custom Bluetooth keyboard cover and stand available for purchase.
Both the Z2 Tablet and Phone are waterproof, feature integrated noise reduction when using Sony ear buds, and they’ll also both be eligible for a special entertainment package including six Sony Pictures films, one of which is ‘Captain Philips’, and a 30 day free trial for Music Unlimited.
Both Z2’s will launch globally this March. Full press releases are below.
Continue reading “Sony unveils Waterproof Xperia Z2 Smartphone & Tablet”
Damn how I love a good gadget bag. I’m constantly on the look out for anything which might satisfy that balance of “tech friendly” and “stylish”. In this case I wanted something slim and portable. STM’s Blazer might just fit the bill.
Continue reading “Gadget Bag Review: STM Blazer Small Laptop & Tablet Sleeve”
Building a little momentum with their Windows 8.1 offerings, Microsoft now sells Asus’ mini tablet, and the price is pretty reasonable.
$329 gets you an 8″ screen powered by an Intel Atom quad-core and 2GB of RAM running a full version of Windows 8.1, giving consumers yet another reason to ignore Windows RT. 32GB of storage on board, but with the full OS and recovery partition, a good chunk of that wont be available to consumers. You’ll probably want to opt for a memory card as VivoTab accepts MicroSD upgrading. A 5MP rear camera is on board. You’ll also get Microsoft Office Home & Student, which usually retails for $140.
Plus, this budget friendly tab comes with a Wacom stylus for precision selection and pressure sensitive drawing. It makes the VivoTab a handy all-rounder, and an interesting alternative to the Android and iOS solutions available.
I’ve been waiting for this one for a while. Asus has experimented with phone and tablet modular systems for a couple years now. Turning Android tablets into laptops, and phones into tablets. Padfone X marks the first Asus modular solution officially supported by an LTE equipped North American carrier.
Padfone merges a 5” 1080p smartphone with a 9” tablet shell. Dock your phone into the tablet, and the services on your phone are instantly transported to a larger screen. A helpful benefit as you can now support a phone experience and a tablet experience over AT&T LTE with only one data plan.
While specific hardware details are slim, we know it will arrive with Android 4.4 KitKat, and it will be one of the first to support AT&T’s LTE Advanced network rollout and HD Voice.
More info at: http://ATT.com/padfonex
Ok sure. Lenovo is ramping up their consumer offerings, but I know them as the “Think” company, and they’re always going to get my attention with new pro gear.
Starting small, the Thinkpad 8 is an eight inch 1080p mini-tab powered by an Intel BayTrail Quad Core. Performance should slot in well between ARM powered tablets and low powered Core processors while still offering a full Windows 8 experience. None of the limitations of Windows RT, you get all the new apps and full support for legacy software. As it’s focused towards the business pro on the go, you’ll also be able to sign up LTE and 3G data service (carrier support to be announced. Add in up to 128GB of storage and a max price of $429, and Lenovo will have a handy competitor in the mini-tab arena.
Moving up the food chain, the new X1 Carbon is one of the slimmest ultra-portable on the market. Continue reading “Lenovo CES Assault: Wrapping up with the Thinkpad 8, ThinkVision, and Thinkpad X1 Carbon”
Windows 8 really comes alive with hardware built for its unique UI. After scoring some early success with the original Yoga, Lenovo is pushing farther into new form factors for Microsoft’s OS.
A new consumer variant of the Yoga 2 will feature 11 and 13 inch displays. The 11 will be powered by a lower power Intel Pentium processor, while the 13 steps up to a Core i5. Both rock the same swivel hinge which can flip the laptop screens around into full tablet PC’s. I’m really stoked to see the orange lid return from the Yoga 2 Pro. A nice touch of branding for a company mostly known for Thinkpads.
The Miix 2 is one of the more sought after mini-tablets for Windows 8 users. Now the Miix line is expanding with 10” and 11” slates. The 10 has an Intel Atom quad core and 2GB of RAM. The 11 will step up to a Core i5 with up to 8GB of RAM, and both are sporting 1080p LCDs. Continue reading “Lenovo CES Assault: Miix 2 10 tablet, Yoga 2, and Flex Laptops”
Last year the Galaxy Camera was an interesting experiment. An Android powered media player with a point and shoot camera stapled to the back. WiFi, Bluetooth, and even LTE data connections were included allowing it to do anything but make a phone call. It continued a conversation for Samsung where they could create new product niches, and play with exotic gadgets.
Now they’re continuing this experiment with a sequel of sorts. The Galaxy Camera 2 is officially official. It sports a new 1.6GHz quad core processor (likely built off of the Exynos line) and a 21X zoom paired with a similar 16MP BSI CMOS sensor. While Sammy isn’t radically changing up the sensor, and it’s the same size as the old Galaxy Camera and Galaxy S4 Zoom (1/2.3″), they are bragging about a new image processing engine which they say will improve image quality.
NFC will make an appearance on this camera to include tap and share options. Of all the updates, I’m most looking forward to the larger battery, up to 2000mAh from 1650 in the OG camera.
What we don’t know yet is if the 4.8″ LCD screen will receive a resolution bump to 1080p as the original G-Cam had 720p LCD. Also no mention is made in the press release if we’ll see another LTE enabled camera or if Samsung will stick to WiFi only devices. And of course, we have no info on pricing and availability. Just a tease that the camera will be on display at CES, but so far this sounds like an uncharacteristically modest update from a company which we’re used to seeing deliver on audacious devices.
Full PR and more pics after the jump.
Continue reading “Samsung unveils Galaxy Camera 2, Android powered Point and Shoot Super Zoom”